


Fall of the Empire (Before It Ever Was)

by Merfilly



Series: Disasters Turned Aside [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 02:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11139360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: Palpatine made a mistake in pushing Anakin over Fives. He will pay.





	Fall of the Empire (Before It Ever Was)

Anakin Skywalker quietly seethed as he listened to the charges being piled up against his man. He knew the man, knew how rough Fives had been taking the incident with Tup. Likewise, Kix had been tearing over everything after an argument with Rex over the fact that they, the Vod'e, did not suffer from stress disorders. It was not possible that Fives was actively seeking to assassinate the Chancellor as response to a mysterious virus, or other medical issue.

"Anakin, I am sorry for your man's condition, but the fact remains, he is, as of this moment, the enemy of the Republic, for seeking my life," Palpatine said, making full eye contact. "You will aid us in stopping this threat."

There was, Anakin admitted to himself, justification in his reputation as someone who did not listen easily to authority. Now, as the Chancellor's words lashed through him with honest-to-Force power, he felt his will rally and then nearly buckle, to make him do as he was told.

That — he fell back on a slave's mask, the ability to keep the masters happy, by pretending to be at ease with the orders given. "As you wish, sir," he said, even with all of his instincts screaming in fear and rage. "You don't have to worry, Chancellor. I will end the threat."

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi was not accustomed to his former padawan showing up unannounced, and looking as exhausted as he normally felt. They still hadn't truly mended their relationship over the entire undercover operation, either, which had Obi-Wan wary, but helping with Ahsoka's case had brought them closer to a resolution there.

He certainly was not prepared to have Fives and Rex as the ones with Anakin, Fives wearing shiny armor with no ARC designation. Fives was as exhausted, or more so, as Anakin.

"Obi-Wan, you have to help us," Anakin said as he and Rex carefully helped Fives down on the couch and set about getting the chest armor off. The elder Jedi could soon see why, as blaster scoring spread out from around a bacta bandage on Fives' upper chest. "Rex, see what you can do to keep him comfortable," Anakin added, handing over the medical kit he had slung around one shoulder, and the captain nodded grimly. That let Anakin move over to Obi-Wan and reach up, hand going to his shoulder in a fierce grip.

"Anakin?"

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. All these years, and a lot of what you've done that made no sense and hurt like fire… it was him manipulating us."

"Sir!" Fives managed to grind that one word out, and Rex's jaw went even tighter.

"Kriff! Rex, are you going to shoot us?"

That more than anything confused Obi-Wan past the ability to process, adding a surreal patina to watching Rex remove his blasters and Fives', holding the belts out to Anakin to get them put away.

"No chances, sir, until you get that thing cut out of me. I know good and karking well it's not treason to say it, but my brain keeps whispering," Rex told him.

Anakin floated the weapons into Obi-Wan's bedroom beyond the office portion of the cabin they were in, face tight with anger.

"What is going on?" the eldest in the room demanded.

"The Chancellor is Sidious, the men are booby-trapped with a chip to kill us on his orders, and we need your help to undo it all!" Anakin blurted out.

Rex focused, harder, on taking care of his man, holding those whispers at bay, while Obi-Wan dropped heavily on the corner of his desk.

"Bantha spit," he finally said, a complete understatement of the chaos he was feeling, but a start to processing that their entire existence had been built on a lie for years.

* * *

Anakin Skywalker walked up to the Chancellor, a perfectly normal action on any given day, in full view of the paparazzi that hounded the politicians constantly. Many Senators and Representatives were just arriving as well, as the session was due to begin in less than an hour.

"Oh Chancellor Palpatine!" The hail came from a different direction, just as Palpatine had intended to greet his young friend, to congratulate him for the swift end of the assassination crisis with the death of the treacherous clone. Palpatine turned, seeing it was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for some reason, the Force was tingling with anticipation. "I am afraid we are going to have to request you come with us."

The 'us' in question was a well-armed squad of clones, and Palpatine felt treachery in the air. Then a clone stepped forward, his helmet off to reveal the tattoo of the meddling clone that had almost upset all of his plans. 

"But first, I set my brothers free," Fives said, regretting that his escape had come at the cost of disfiguring the brother that had died in trying to pursue him into the lower levels. He had kept the man's armor and ident chip, to remember him for all time, and regretted the death in general. At least he hadn't directly caused it, as the vod had waved his blaster in the wrong sector and been murdered.

He clicked a device in his hand, and all but the mixed squad of Ghost and Torrent men fell to their knees in a brief but blinding pain.

"That signal has gone out to all the fleet, Chancellor," Obi-Wan said in a hard voice. "The troops, who had been implanted with a chip designed to strip them of their autonomy, are free of the Sith threat to use them against the Jedi. I do suggest you come with us now, and have a long talk about your future."

"Skywalker, do you hear this madness? Do you see what they have done to the clones?" Palpatine asked, falling back on the ally he knew was his. "I demand you reason with Master Kenobi."

Anakin's eyes narrowed, and they glinted dangerously. "Actually, Chancellor, I've already seen the Iktotchi Senator, who will confirm for you that all those nasty little traps you placed in my head are gone. There will be no more demands from you on me."

The Force snapped all around him, and revealed many Jedi salted through the crowd that was steadily going, with rumors of a coup or corruption being reported openly. How had they hidden?

The pressure, though, that was them assaulting his mind, pushing to make him reveal himself. They had no plans to let him leave this place in peace… they all wanted power… he hated them, hated Skywalker for breaking his plans…

…and the Sith attacked that which he hated, unable to withstand the brunt of so many Jedi thrumming 'truth' into the Force around him.

**Author's Note:**

> And this is how the Sithly machinations were disrupted. Next up will actually be both sides of the story catching up to one another.


End file.
